1 Amber
by occultmagic
Summary: Rose, the Doctor and Captain Jack stumble across a moon transmitting a distress signal. When they go to investigate they discover all is not, as per usual, what it seems... [Part one of a miniseries COMPLETE][Set after Boom Town up to series end]
1. Perth

Rose Tyler walked into the console room of the TARDIS, dressed for summer in a pair of shorts, a vest top and flip-flops, to find Jack and the Doctor leaning over one of the monitors, watching it very closely, both with a very perplexed look on their face.

"It's coming from the whole _planet_, how is that possible?" Jack asked.

The Doctor shrugged.

"They could be at war." He suggested, "Though I don't remember there being a war here and now."

"Well there's no sign of war – you'd see it on the surface!"

"It's not a planet anyway, it's a moon." The Doctor corrected absentmindedly.

"Care to tell a poor confused Rose what's going on?" Rose asked, wandering over to the screen they were both staring at avidly. In the centre of it was a very green moon, orbiting a much larger orange planet.

They were supposed to be going to Earth, early seventeenth century Mauritius, for a bit of a holiday, and to try and spot a Dodo. It was one of Rose's more pointless requests, but really she just wanted a bit of sea, sun and surf, something she wasn't likely to get unless she included something historical in there somewhere.

"That is the forest moon of Perth, the only place in the Phix system that is inhabited," The Doctor said, "And for some reason it is beaming out a distress signal, though the signal seems to be coming from everywhere, not just a local area. The whole moon is transmitting the signal."

"And what's down there?" Rose asked.

"That's the funny thing," the Doctor said, "Perthians aren't an aggressive race; they are knowledge keepers, recorders."

"Which is a roundabout way of saying they are all a bunch of Librarians!" Jack said.

"Perth doesn't have cities – the entire population lives inside their many libraries," the Doctor explained, "Which is why it's odd that they have such a powerful distress signal."

"Time to investigate?" Rose asked hopefully.

"Definitely!" The Doctor said with a big grin. He reached out to the console, twirled a few dials and the TARDIS began to move.

After a moment he marched purposefully towards the door. Jack and Rose followed him. Politely, he let Rose through first, opening the door of the TARDIS onto a lush green landscape.

"Wow!" Rose said.

"It's like a rainforest," Jack commented as he exited the TARDIS, "They must have trouble keeping their books from going mouldy!"

"In Earth terms it's the year 3047, so I think we can assume they have technology beyond pens and paper…" The Doctor said.

Rose looked around at the beautiful vegetation, touching what didn't look too risky, admiring the beautiful flowers, while Jack scanned around with his watch device, presumably searching for the source of the distress signal.

"I just don't get it," he said after a moment, turning to the Doctor, who was scanning trees with his sonic screwdriver, "The signal is coming from everywhere – it's even coming from us now."

"What? We're a distress signal?" Rose questioned.

"Yes," the Doctor said, scanning up and down first her, and then Jack, "We seem to be transmitting the signal as well. The TARDIS isn't though." He added, scanning his ship.

"This is way beyond this time period," Jack said, shaking his head with what Rose had come to call the 'impressed school boy' expression. He would grin with such honest and _innocent _(something Rose knew from experience that Jack definitely wasn't) enthusiasm, and it normally meant trouble – he had worn the same expression when playing with Margaret Slitheen's pan-dimensional surfboard.

"Yup, something is definitely up here!" he added, "Let's go investigate!"

"Go idea!" the Doctor said, "Just let me lock the TARDIS…"

He locked the old blue Police Box and held out his arm for Rose. She took it and held out her other arm for Jack. In step they walked off together, looking for some sign of life somewhere.

"They've never had any wars, not that I recall," The Doctor said, "A generally peaceful race, if a bit bookish."

"And snobby!" Jack added.

"And that," The Doctor said, shrugging. Rose laughed.

"So, we have, a bunch of librarians, who don't cause trouble, yet they have a distress signal beaming out of their entire planet?" Rose asked.

"Something like that, yeah!" the Doctor said, stepping over a tree root.

"How are they generating enough power to do that?" Rose asked, picking her feet up over the plants and vines that littered the floor. _Shouldn't have worn these shoes… _she thought, looking down at her little sandals. Her feet already itched. "Wouldn't they have had to have nuclear power stations or something, to generate that much energy?"

"Yeah," Jack said, "Not to mention technology at lest four centuries ahead of their time!"

"More than that," The Doctor said, "Something isn't right here."

"Time hasn't gone wrong again has it?" Rose asked, turning to him. As she turned her attention away from the ground in front of her, her foot connected with a root and she went tumbling to the floor, rolling down a slight incline in the ground.

"Rose!" The Doctor said, sounding torn between worry and amusement. Jack was just laughing. He jogged down to where she had landed.

"Up you get, Rose!" he said, pulling her up by her arm, "You alright? That was quite a fall."

"I'm… fine," She said after a moment, rubbing her head with the hand Jack wasn't using to pull her up.

"Rose Tyler, jeopardy friendly!" The Doctor said, taking her other arm and setting her on her feet properly.

"That's me," Rose said, trying to get her eyes to focus properly. When they did, she saw something she hadn't been expecting at all.

"Doctor?" She asked, "I thought the people on this planet were peaceful?"

"Apparently not," Jack muttered, looking around at the many sharp spears that were pointed in their direction. He and the Doctor stood defensively in front of Rose and prepared to face their enemy.

"What, may I ask, are you three doing here?" A woman asked, stepping out from behind the trees.

* * *

Perthians were a feline-like species. They were shaped like humanoids, but with cat ears, feline faces and a soft covering of fur. The hands holding the spears however, were very human – dexterous and precise. Rose looked warily at the spear jabbing into Jack's leg, and the one pointed at the Doctor's neck. The woman watched them with a scornful gaze, peering over the top of her thick glasses. She definitely looked like a librarian, even if she also looked like a cat, Rose thought.

"Hello," The Doctor said cheerily, nodding his head and waving despite the many spears pointing at him, "We were just passing by really, noticed you were beaming out a distress signal, thought we'd come and investigate."

"Then you know about it?" The Perthain asked, "what it is, where it's coming from?"

"Err, no," The Doctor admitted, "I was hoping you could clarify that one for us."

"You are Time Agents I presume," the woman said.

"Yes, ma'am, Captain Jack Harkness at…"

Rose elbowed Jack. Now was not the time or the place for his, well, attitude. She didn't think the stiff necked Perthian woman would much appreciate it either.

"And where are you from?" she asked, gazing sternly between the three of them.

"Planet Earth," the Doctor said, "All three of us!"

Rose looked up at the Doctor – what he had said wasn't true.

"Planet Earth?" The woman repeated, "Backwards little human colony, barely taking their first steps out into the wider universe? I would have hoped for someone more competent."

Rose opened her mouth to say something probably stupid and very definitely offensive.

"We are competent!" The Doctor said, "Try me, ask me anything!"

The woman looked him up and down scornfully, like she doubted anyone dressed in a scruffy leather jacket accompanied by and outrageous flirt and a peroxide blonde could be anything other than incompetent.

"You are Time Agents, when are you from?"

"Everywhere," The Doctor responded. He checked his watch. "I make it the year 3047, which means Rose here is from the past, Jack is from the future, as am I."

"How far in the past?"

"Early twenty first century, ish."

"Early twenty first century, England gets its first contact with an alien species in the form of the family Slitheen, a criminal sect from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorius. The Slitheen are stopped by person or persons unknown, but not before they murder their way to the top of government, and the country is left in the hands of one Harriet Jones, who will become one of the most popular Prime Ministers in British history, next to the likes of Winston Churchill. Less than a day later and the whole country are dismissing a genuine alien encounter as a hoax. I hardly believe someone from that time period would make a suitable Time Agent, their feeble brains would implode at the prospect of their being a whole universe out there full of life." The woman said scathingly. "Who are you really?"

"My brain hasn't imploded yet!" Rose said angrily, "I'm not that useless."

The woman turned to her and looked her up and down.

"We'll see," she said, then turned back to the Doctor, "A week ago now, a space ship crashed into this moon at very high speed. It has left a scar on the ground where it hit, yet the ship is nowhere in sight. There are no signs of metal or otherwise on the ground, yet something of non-organic origins definitely hit the ground there, for bare minutes after it had struck, the signal began. At first it was local and we tracked it to the crash site, but within four hours it had started transmitting from the other side of the moon. A being large and strong enough to move their own ship away from the crash site would have trouble hiding from the many scouts that have been scouring these lands, yet we have found nothing. We can only assume that the being must be here somewhere, for the signal is still transmitting."

"Let me see the crash site and I'll tell you what I can." The Doctor said.

"Very well, lower your spears," she said to the other cat-like people around her, "Now, we don't have Earth here, Jupiter close enough for you?"

"I'm not particular," The Doctor said.

"Good," The woman said, "Jupiter, escort these people to the crash site, then; once they have finished looking around, find them a room in Library 207. Pardon me for not doing this myself, but I have a Library to open, Library 2000, it's a big event, and requires my time and energy more than distress signals do. Good day."

And with that she left, along with all the other cat-like people, leaving only one behind, a female with soft blue fur and wide purple eyes. Rose thought she looked young, though she knew from experience it was hard to tell for certain how old some species were (just look at the Doctor for example!), but she hazarded a guess she was about seventeen in human terms.

"My name is Jupiter, kind sirs and good lady, please, allow me to escort you to the crash site." She said, and began to lead the way.

"Doctor, you're not from Earth, and we aren't Time Agents, why did you lie?" Rose asked quietly. Jack was up ahead chatting to Jupiter, which meant she was being kept very busy. Rose didn't think the shy library girl knew what to make of Jack.

"Rose, the Perthians are to knowledge what Daleks are to destruction – if I had told them I was a Time Lord we would never have left this planet. Sometimes it's best to let people believe what's easiest to explain."

"Like when everyone said the Slitheen were a hoax?"

"Exactly!" the Doctor said, smiling at her, "Now, lets hope Jack isn't distracting Jupiter too much, I don't want to end up lost in this place."

Rose laughed.

"I don't think they have any books on how to deal with people like Jack." She said, grinning.

"Nope, that's one thing they may have to learn the hard way."

"Why are they named after planets?" Rose asked.

"This moon is the knowledge centre of the universe at the moment," the Doctor explained, "the people here know everything, and it is often visited by others who want to find things out. It is a quaint little tradition to be shown round by someone who bears the same name as your planet, moon or system. People pay well to come here, the Perthians are eager to please high paying customers."

"Imagine being called Raxacoricofallapatorius." Rose said.

"Yes, it would be hard to fit that on a name tag."

Up ahead, Jupiter had come to a stop and Jack was scanning a clearing ahead of them with his watch.

"What have we got then Jack?" the Doctor asked.

"Massive burnout of vegetation, nice rut in the land where something hit it at high speed, and…absolutely nothing else." He snapped his watch shut.

The land was burnt black, and a pile of dirt had built up to abut two feet high, but Jack was right, there was nothing there.

"Well, lets have a closer look, doesn't look too dangerous." The Doctor said.

"No, nothing ever does!" Rose said.

"Rose, you stay here, chat to Jupiter!" the Doctor said, grinning cheerily.

"Leave the life risking to the big boys!" Jack said, and jumped into the crater.

"So, is this what you do? Show people round?" Rose asked Jupiter.

"Yes, mostly, though I do spend forty hours a week on private study. I hope to become a head Librarian one day." Jupiter said.

"Is that, like your job?" Rose asked, "How much do you get paid for showing people round?"

"Paid? No, we don't get paid – we get access to the libraries, and if you are lucky, sometimes better accommodation." Jupiter said.

"That's a bit off, what if you wanted to go shopping? Where do you get the money from?"

"Shopping is a ritual undertaking by many species galaxy wide, but not one we Perthians partake in. Money is the cause of ninety four percent of all conflict, so we do not indulge ourselves in it, when it is not necessary."

"But, you're named after planets to please high paying customers," Rose said.

"Yes, their capital is needed for the upkeep and preservation of the Libraries, we as individuals do not possess any."

"Doesn't sound like much of a life to me. Is that all you do? Read? You sound like you're quoting from text book half the time."

"Yes, I spend a lot of my time reading, but it is a fine life – what better way to spend your years than accumulating knowledge. Knowledge passed on to later generations is how this universe will progress."

"You sound like the Doctor," Rose said, slightly impatiently.

"Excuse me for asking, but what sort of a name is 'The Doctor'. I am well versed in Earth Traditions, History and Culture, being close to my namesake planet. We have to learn thoroughly every planet in our Namesake's system you see, and 'The Doctor' is not the kind of name used by Earth people. They prefer names like John and Amy."

"I dunno," Rose said, "My name's Rose Tyler, and the other guy is Jack Harkness, the Doctor is just the Doctor, I don't know him by any other name."

"Rose, a plant, often associated with beauty and love. Is that correct?"

"Yeah, that's right." Rose said, starting to become a bit disconcerted by Jupiter's unusual attitude. "Hurry up Doctor!" she called out, "It's so hot out here, I'm dying for a drink!"

* * *

The woman, whose name was Lalande (all important people were named after stars or systems, Lalande being a star in the Ursa Major constellation) returned home to Library 207 and went to speak immediately to the top man, Proxima Centauri.

"Sir, we have a situation," she said, "Three non-contemporaneous life forms have emerged from the forest, claiming to be Time Agents. They wanted to know about the signal."

"Do they know what it is, where it's coming from?" Proxima asked.

"No sir, they simply wanted to investigate. I sent them with Jupiter to the crash site, with instructions to return to 207 as soon as they are done."

"Very well, thank you Lalande, I will speak to these people when they return. In the mean time, if something is about and causing trouble, we better double security – we can't have the grand opening of 2000 being interrupted. Send for the captain, Sirius A, have him rethink security round the place."

"Yes sir, I will see to it right away."

Lalande stepped out of his office and turned to an amber eyed youngster.

"You shouldn't eavesdrop on important conversations between people above you!" she said angrily, "A Perthian should have more respect, now shoo!"

The youngster scrambled off and Lalande marched quickly over to the security office, looking for Sirius A.

* * *

"Well, well, what have we here?" Jack asked, reaching down and picking up what looked like a box on a key-ring.

"Keep that out of sight," the Doctor said, "don't mention it until we are back in our room. Something is going on here, and I don't want the Perthians to try and handle it, that would be like Henry Van Statten all over again."

"Who?" Jack asked.

"Never mind, just do it!" the Doctor said, and walked back over to where Rose was standing, looking thoroughly annoyed with their guide Jupiter.

"Can we go now?" She asked, barely able to keep the impatience from her voice.

"Yes, lead the way Jupiter!"

Obediently the girl led on.

"Doesn't anyone on this planet have a scrap of personality?" Rose asked.

"Perthians are brought up to be like robots," the Doctor said, "completely obedient, completely humble, and never questioning. The only questions they ask are ones to further their own knowledge, which is why many people, Jack included, think they are snobby."

"They're not that bad, but would benefit from consuming a large amount of alcohol I think." Rose said, making the Doctor grin.

"Lets just head back to Library 207, I'll call the TARDIS up to our room, or where ever we get put, and we can try and work out this distress signal, then we can leave."

"Sounds good to me!" Rose said.

"Here is the guest accommodation, would you like one room or two?" Jupiter asked, sounding like a well practised tour guide.

"One will do us thanks," the Doctor said, and Jupiter handed him a key-card.

"Room 27b," she said, "Enjoy your stay."

The Doctor, Jack and Rose headed off to the room, and entered. It was large and spacious – plenty of room for the TARDIS. The Doctor set about summoning it, Rose lay back on one of the large beds, and Jack took something out of his pocket and began inspecting it.

"What is it then?" The Doctor asked Jack.

"Looks like a box on a key-ring to me," Rose said, sitting up and peering at the strange item Jack was examining.

"That's what it looks like, but I think it's a locator." Jack said, "Well beyond this time period – it's like a key to a ship, but you can use them to track your ship, if you get lost."

He held the box out in front of him and began twisting it.

"If I just get the right angle it should…" a faint click sounded and a grid came out of a small projector on the box, showing a birds eye view of Library 207 and the surrounding area. In the top corner of it, a bright mark flashed.

"Bingo!" Jack said, "One map to our space ship, care for a midnight stroll anyone?"

* * *

Ok, that was my first attempt at a story! Hope you like it, many more chapters to come!

P.S. I have (tragically) only ever seen the recent series of Doctor Who, so if any of this, and anything yet to come, contradicts with anything said in earlier series, then I apologise!


	2. The Assassin Ship

Jack opened the door and led the way. They crept very quietly through the library, not wanting to alert anyone to their actions.

"If we just keep following this dot, we should be alright," Jack said.

"Should," Rose repeated, "How many times have I heard that word and ended up running for my life!"

"Too many I can imagine!" Jack said with a grin.

Outside it was darker, but still warm and humid. Jack picked a path through the forest as carefully as he could, but it was still slow hard work.

"This is going to be a nightmare when we head back," Jack said.

"That's what torches are for!" the Doctor said, producing one from somewhere within his coat and turning it on.

"You had a torch in your pocket and you let us struggle all that way?" Rose asked.

"Didn't want to waste the battery."

"You're hopeless!"

"Here we are guys and gals," Jack said. The dot on the locator was now directly above where they were standing.

"There's nothing here," Rose said.

"First rule of active camouflage?" Jack asked.

"Park somewhere you'll remember." Rose answered.

"Only in a place like this, where everything looks the same, there isn't somewhere obvious to remember. That's where this locator comes in, only I think our pilot has lost it." The Doctor said. "The Perthians are guarding the crash site night and day, and they are in hiding, so they can't get back to find the locator, and they can't find their ship."

"Does that make them dangerous or helpless?" Rose asked.

"Let's find out, shall we?" the Doctor said, then pointed his sonic screwdriver at the sky.

Rose watched as the camouflage began to melt away from the surface of the ship and the ship began to descend to ground level. As it came into the light of the Doctor's torch she gasped in fear.

"It can't be!" she said.

"That's impossible," Jack said, "it was the last one of its kind!"

"They were all destroyed, I saw it happen!" the Doctor said, backing away.

"Since when were they all destroyed?" Rose asked, "That one maybe, but surely there are others – there's a whole planet of them!"

"What?" Jack said.

"Hang on a minute," The Doctor said, folding his arms across his chest, "What do you think you're looking at?"

"A Slitheen ship, like the one that crashed into the Thames, right?" Rose answered.

"That's not what I see," Jack said, "I see a Chula medical freighter."

They both turned to the Doctor.

"And I see a ship from the Dalek fleet."

"But how is… how's that possible?" Rose asked, "There's only one ship."

"What do you think, Captain?" The Doctor asked.

"Oh I think I want to meet the guy that owns this baby!" Jack said, walking up to the ship with an excited skip in his step. "I've heard of this kind of thing before but never seen it, it's _genius_!"

"What is?" Rose asked, confused as usual.

"The TARDIS isn't the only telepathic ship out there," the Doctor began to explain, "Some have defence systems that work like the slightly psychic paper. The paper shows people what you want them to see, this system shows you what you don't want to see."

"So you see what you are most afraid of!" Jack finished, patting the ship affectionately with his hand.

"You're most afraid of an ambulance?" Rose asked. Jack looked a little embarrassed.

"No, but I don't rate that month as one of the best in my lifetime." He admitted.

"You've redeemed yourself," the Doctor said shortly, "Now, let's see if we can get inside this thing."

"I'm on it!" Jack said.

After about ten minutes of tinkering and poking, the boys finally got the ship opened up. Jack disappeared inside almost instantly, but the Doctor held back to show Rose where the entrance was.

"This thing's armed to the teeth!" Jack said from somewhere inside, "Literally!"

Rose held the Doctors hand as she stepped on board. She didn't recognise any of the weapons, but she could see Jack was right. There was enough in the way of firearms to kill someone in a thousand different ways.

"This is not good," the Doctor said, looking round.

"They have a Compact Laser Duluxe!" Jack said, taking a tiny weapon off the wall and admiring it.

"They have technology from so far in the future they can't possibly be here by mistake." The Doctor said.

"How far?" Rose asked.

"I don't know, but far." The Doctor answered. "This for instance," he said, taking something small and cylindrical off the wall, "Jack – you ever seen anything like this?"

"Nope," Jack answered, "What is it?"

"Video recorder," the Doctor answered, holding it up to his eye and looking around.

"But it's tiny!" Rose said, "It's just an eye piece."

"And you'll get a clearer picture out of that than any of your old Earth rubbish. It's the sort of thing used to record holographic projections, literally three dimensional filming." The Doctor explained.

"Even in my time those kind of things are huge!" Jack said, "You want to film a decent three dimensional, interactive picture, you have to have a whole room to do it in!"

"Exactly, so who, or whatever pilots this ship isn't from round here, not by a long stretch."

"But, if they have so much technology – why call for help?" Rose questioned.

"Good point, why?" The Doctor mused.

"Could be a fake, a signal meant to draw reinforcements, disguised as a harmless distress signal." Jack suggested.

The Doctor half registered what Jack said, but his eyes and mind were focused on something else altogether.

"Our trouble just increased tenfold." He said, picking up an insignia that was hung on the wall.

"What's that?" Rose asked, feeling the Doctor's fear. It was making her nervous.

"Assassin, it's the mark of an assassin."

"What would an assassin want on Perth?" Jack asked, examining the emblem.

"I don't know," the Doctor admitted, "But this is all a little suspicious, so be on your guard. Something isn't right and I have a very strong feeling our friend didn't just crash land."

"Wait a second, didn't that woman say something about opening a new library?" Rose said. The Doctor looked up at her with frank admiration.

"Rose Tyler you are a genius!" he said, "of course, Library 2000 – everybody who's anybody is likely to be there."

He started pacing backwards and forwards, muttering to himself and gesticulating. Rose and Jack had both come to know this meant he was thinking.

"What's the plan then Doc?" Jack asked.

"Right then, we go back to 207, find that woman and ask her for a guest list – look for likely victims. Then, we head over to 2000 and search the premises, look for likely hiding places for assassins, while all the time keeping eyes, ears and otherwise open for anything out of the ordinary or odd. Oh, and don't get killed while doing it."

"Simple then," Rose said with a grin.

"Better hide this thing again, so whoever owns it doesn't know we're onto them." The Doctor said, zapping the ship with his Sonic Screwdriver as they stepped outside.

"But, they've lost it," Rose said, "We've got the Locator."

"Maybe, maybe not, either way it's going to be fairly obvious if it suddenly appears in the middle of a dense rainforest when it was camouflaged before." The Doctor said, "And besides, I don't like to be messy."

"That's a first!" Rose said, laughing, "You normally make lots of mess and leave it to others to tidy up!"

"Oi!" The Doctor protested, turning on his torch and lighting the way back.

"What? It's true! And you know it." Rose said, falling into step beside him.

Jack took another look at the Compact Laser Duluxe he had pocketed while no one was looking, then jogged to catch up with them.

* * *

The next morning they were woken bright and early by Lalande knocking on the door.

"Blimey!" The Doctor said as he answered it, "Have you lot not heard of lie-ins?"

"Lie-in, a term used to describe sleeping in late or sometimes the propensity to not get out of bed, even when awake, yes sir, I know what a lie-in is." She said.

"I don't think I caught your name yesterday, care to enlighten me?"

"Lalande," she replied shortly.

"Ursa Major system," the Doctor said, "Nice place, not the star itself of course, just the system."

"When you are quite finished with the small talk, I have come to deliver a message. The manager of this Library, Mr Proxima Centauri, would like to speak with you," Lalande said, looking down at him over the rim of her glasses, "He requests to know your business, and the business with the distress signal."

"Well, talking is one of the many things I'm good at, so, lead the way Lalande! Why don't you two do a spot of sight seeing, spare you the business meeting." The Doctor suggested, looking pointedly at first Jack, then Rose.

"Sure Doctor, see you later." Rose said, nodding to let him know she had got the idea.

"Well then, sightseeing?" Jack said, offering Rose an arm.

* * *

"Welcome to 207 sir, I hope your rooms and services suit your needs," the old Perthian said as the Doctor sat down opposite him in a large chair, "Thank you Lalande, that will be all!"

Lalande nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Now then sir, my name is Proxima Centauri, you are?"

"The Doctor, just the Doctor."

"Curious name for an Earthling, well Doctor, you told Lalande you are with the Time Agency, but she had reason to not believe you, and I can see why, care to tell me who you really are?"

"Just a traveller, no one really," The Doctor said.

"You are no one, yet you stopped to try and work out what the distress signal was and where it was coming from."

"I have a curious disposition."

"Well, what did you discover?"

"I found the ship it is coming from. It's an assassin ship, from the future," the Doctor said, dropping the emblem on Proxima Centauri's desk.

The old Perthian picked it up and studied it closely.

"It matches the current assassin symbol, but with changes – the writing around the edge, I don't recognise it. Do you know what it says?"

"Same as it always says – 'honour and death come hand in hand', the assassin moto, only it's written in a text that won't appear in mainstream for another four hundred thousand years, at least. The technology on the ship was incredible – it had a shield which showed you your worst nightmare for a start, and a control system that even my associate Jack had trouble operating, and he really was a Time Agent."

"So you think an assassin from the future has crash landed on Perth?"

"No, I think an assassin from the future has pretended to crash land on Perth," the Doctor said, "Something about this whole thing is wrong, but I can't work out what yet. I may, and I really hope so, be wrong, but for now I'm working on the assumption that I'm right about this. So, I need to see the guest list for the grand opening of Library 2000 and access to the grounds so I can take a good look around."

Proxima Centauri regarded him gravely, then nodded.

"I will summon you a guide," he said.

* * *

"You know, I was thinking – they've been collecting knowledge and stuff for age right? How come they are only up to Library 2000?" Rose asked.

"Well, the number of Libraries is more closely related to the population than their knowledge bank," Jack said, "And all that studying doesn't leave much time for procreation!"

Rose snorted in a very unladylike manner.

"Look, the corridor splits up ahead – which do you want to take, left or right?"

"Oh, tough choice, but I will have to say…left."

"Ok, I'll take right then!" Rose said brightly.

"Sure you want to go on your own?" Jack asked. "We possibly have a mad assassin running around!"

"I can handle it!" she said, "Managed without pretty well before you arrived!"

"Ah, but you had the Doctor."

"Not always," Rose said, "I got locked down with the Dalek by myself, then there was that time in Cardiff, 1989, when I got locked in with a load of zombies, and when I first met the Doctor, I saved his life!"

"Ok then, you're tougher than you look, I mean, than I thought, tougher than I thought," He changed at Rose's stern look.

"Well, see you in a bit then!" she said.

"Yeah – have you got the room key?"

Rose flashed the room's key-card at him.

"Right here!"

Jack smiled then headed off down the left corridor. He looked around, scanning with his watch as he went. He wasn't getting any unusual readings but he knew better than to let that be an excuse to let his guard down.

"Can I help you sir? You look a little lost. Is it something in particular you are looking for?" A young Perthian boy asked him.

"Yeah, but nothing you'll know about kid." Jack answered more than a little impatiently.

"Try me," the boy replied politely, "Your planet may not be in my system but I'm good friends with Earth and we study together – I know a lot of Earth History."

"That's ok kid, really," Jack said through gritted teeth.

"Please, my name is Fenrir sir. It is actually a planet, but also a figure from Norse Mythology, from Earth. In those myths Fenrir was the big bad wolf, the son of the half divine, Loki. I find Earth myths fascinating."

"Well Fenrir, not so much of a big bad wolf as a little good one, you are! Thanks, but no thanks, I'm fine, really." Jack said, then left the room before the boy could offer his services again.

He had to get off this planet before the goody-goody attitude drove him to insanity.

Walking very quickly down another corridor and into the room on the end, Jack was so busy scanning around that he walked straight into another Perthian. The Perthian female was knocked straight off her feet and onto the floor. Jack gritted his teeth and turned to help her up.

"Sorry sweetheart," he said in his best charming voice, "Didn't see you there! Don't know how I missed such a pretty face." He held out a hand to her, but she shrugged it off.

"I can manage by myself," she said, hopping to her feet.

"You ok?" Jack asked, resting his hands on her shoulder in a very friendly manner. The girl may have been cat-like but she had the most gorgeous orangey-yellow eyes he had ever seen, and Jack was not one to turn down an opportunity to flirt. The girl looked at him scathingly.

"I will be once you remove your hands from my shoulders," she said, raising an eyebrow.

Jack raised his hands in submission and backed away.

"So, is that it, or do I get your name at least?" Jack asked, putting his hands close, but not touching.

"Raxacoricofallapatorius, so don't talk to me," she said shortly, then walked out the door shutting it behind her.

Jack grinned to himself, sometimes being rejected was as much fun as getting what you wanted, especially when they did it with attitude.

Jack laughed to himself, then carried on scanning. A little bit of sass was a welcome break among all these other wet blankets.

"Wait a second, since when do Perthians have attitude?" Jack said to himself, then ran for the door. Just before he reached it, he heard the lock bolt shut.

"Damn it!" he shouted.

* * *

Rose wandered into the end room, admiring the tall bookcases and high domed ceilings. This place was beautiful, even if it was almost unbearably hot and sticky.

"Rose!" Jack called out. Something in his voice told her something was wrong.

"Rose, we have to get back to the ship!" he said, putting his hands on her shoulders like he so often did.

"Why? Where's the Doctor?" Rose asked.

"He's fine, I saw him just now – told me to make sure you got to safety, so let's go!" Jack said.

"Ok, I've got the room key!" Rose brandished the card.

"Excellent! Lead the way!" Jack said. Rose ran back down the corridor and Jack charged after her.

"So, what's going on?" Rose asked.

"I don't know, the Doctor didn't say much – he just told me to get you out." Jack said.

"Must be trouble, d'you think he found the assassin?"

Jack shrugged.

"Possibly," he said, "All I know is it sounded bad, whatever it was."

"Well we better get back to the TARDIS then," Rose said, "Will he be alright on his own?"

"He'll be fine," Jack said, urging her forwards by putting his hands on her shoulders and pushing her slightly.

They ran all the way back to the guest accommodation. Rose skidded into the door and unlocked it quickly, before piling in with Captain Jack close behind her.

"Shut the door again, lock it!" Jack ordered. Rose did as she was told, then took out her key for the TARDIS and opened it, looking anxiously over her shoulder as Jack scanned his watch all round the room.

"In we go!" she said, and opened the TARDIS doors. As she disappeared inside, Jack paused hesitantly at the door then entered.

Rose ran straight to the console and tried to turn on one of the monitors. She didn't see Jack staring round in awe.

"Come on!" Rose said, "I know you can see pretty much anything on one of these screens, oh how does the Doctor do it!"

She lashed out a kick at the console, but it hurt her a lot more than she supposed it hurt it.

"Aren't you going back?" Rose asked, walking over to Jack. She looked up at him but he looked away.

"No, he told me to wait here," he said.

"That's not like you, just to sit here! Aren't you gonna break the rules or something?" Rose said.

"Too much at risk this time," Jack said. Rose backed away from him.

"He's in trouble isn't he? Real trouble! And he sent you back because you can fly me home!" she turned so she had her back to Jack. "Oh my god, what are we going to do?"

Suddenly the doors flew open and Jack came bursting through closely followed by the Doctor.

"Rose!" he yelled, pointing a gun in her direction.

"Jack?" Rose asked, completely confused, "But…"

"Drop your weapon," an unfamiliar, slightly hissing female voice said, "I really don't want to have to shoot her." Jack's weapon clattered to the floor.

Rose put up her hands and turned round slowly, to see a gun pointing at her head in the hands of an almost reptilian woman, with thick blue tentacles for hair, pointy shark like teeth, beguiling orange eyes, and long, icy blue fingernails that came to a sharp point.

"But you were, she was…Jack was, oh I'm confused, again!" Rose said.

"Quiet!" the woman snapped, poking Rose with the tip of her gun.

"Don't hurt her!" Jack said, stepping forwards.

"I won't if you stay where you are," she said, and Jack stopped dead in his tracks. A smile crept over her lips and she lowered the gun a little. "Glad we have an understanding. Now, down to business."

* * *

Thanks muchly to the people who reviewed!


	3. Amber

Jack looked at the locked door. It was a simple enough lock mechanism – a bolt that slid into place when you activated the device with the appropriate key-card. Unfortunately it was impossible to pick, which meant he would have to get out of this room the easy way. Kick down the door.

Jack kicked it experimentally, his heavy boot connecting with the wooden panels. They creaked and complained, but didn't budge. He tried again.

"Are you ok in there?" he heard the voice of Fenrir from the other side of the door.

"Hey, kid, good to hear you!" Jack said, "Wouldn't happen to have the key-card for this door would you?"

"Certainly sir," the boy answered, and the door clicked open.

"Thanks!" Jack said, ruffling the kid's fur like hair.

"How did you end up locked in?"

"Someone locked me in, a girl, with pretty hot orangey eyes, not that you'd know hot, you're just a kid," Jack said.

"Hot, a temperature considered undesirable, varies from species to species?" the boy questioned.

"That's real cute kid, but I meant the other kind of hot," Jack said, his mind wandering to the blonde bombshell he travelled through time and space with.

"Oh god, Rose!" he said, and charged back down the corridor after her.

He ran into the end room of the corridor Rose had been exploring to find it empty.

"Ok, not good, not good!" Jack said. He looked round and took out his watch, scanning the area for Rose. His watch bleeped to tell him one of his companions was nearby, but it wasn't the one he was looking for.

"Found anything Captain?" the Doctor asked as he walked in the room, "I had a look at 2000, but there was nothing there, and the guest list isn't that impressive either."

"Yeah well, I haven't found anything, but I have lost Rose, and someone just locked me in," Jack said, "A pretty hot female someone."

"And your charm didn't get you out of there?" The Doctor quipped, "Where is she?"

"Rose or the other girl?"

"Well, I kind of think they are probably in the same place, don't you?" the Doctor said in his irritating condescending voice.

"Good point," Jack conceded, and scanned around with his watch. "Found her! She's heading for the TARDIS!"

"Let's go then!" The Doctor said, and charged down the corridors in the direction of their room.

Jack ran like a trained military man. The Doctor ran like an excited four year old. They got there in record time, but the door was open and there was no sign of Rose or anyone else. Whoever and whatever had Rose, had gone with her inside the TARDIS.

"Well, let's go and say hi," the Doctor said grimly, apparently not happy about having someone unwelcome on his beloved ship.

He unlocked the door and entered, throwing open the doors.

"Rose!" Jack called out, running in first. The Doctor skipped in after him.

Rose was stood next to Jack, which was both impossible and worrying – one Jack was enough to cope with. Rose was staring at the Jack which had just ran through the door with an extremely confused look on her face. The Doctor looked between Jack and er, Jack. One was staring intently at Rose, watching her every move, the other was staring intently at himself, nodding with an expression which said 'not bad, not bad at all!'

The Doctor rolled his eyes and turned back to the other Jack, who had turned into a reptilian woman, with thick blue tentacles for hair. The Doctor recognised her as a member of the Quertiz race, an amphibious species from the planet Lexican which had a tendency to be aggressive and calculating, often choosing Assassination as their desired profession.

_Great, just great…_ the Doctor thought, then folded his arms and turned to face the amber-eyed assassin.

* * *

"But you were, she was…Jack was, oh I'm confused, again!" Rose said.

"Quiet!" the woman snapped, poking Rose with the tip of her gun.

"Don't hurt her!" Jack said, stepping forwards. The Doctor smiled slightly at his eagerness to protect Rose. Not so long ago Jack would have run away to save his own neck. Well, perhaps that wasn't entirely fair, he may have stopped to try and charm the person who was attacking him for a while first.

"I won't if you stay where you are," the Quertiz woman said, and Jack stopped dead in his tracks. A smile crept over her lips and she lowered the gun a little. "Glad we have an understanding. Now, down to business."

"I don't think you are in the position to be discussing business when you are standing in _our_ ship." Jack said, folding his arms in a manner not unlike the Doctor.

"_Who's_ ship?" The Doctor asked quietly, but Jack didn't correct himself.

"I don't think you are in the position to be telling me what to do," the woman replied, "considering I have a gun pointed at your friend's head."

"Maybe not, but can't blame a guy for trying huh?" Jack tried his cheesy grin, but it cut no ice with the woman. "Okay, so that's not going to work either, I'm running out of ideas here." He said, a little helplessly.

"Then why don't you shut up for a moment and listen to me," the woman said, then did something that surprised both the Doctor and Jack. She lowered her weapon and pushed Rose towards them. Jack rushed forwards and pulled the blonde into his arms and towards what he hoped was safety.

"A gesture of good faith," the woman said, "all I ask in return is that you hear me out before jumping to conclusions about me."

"May be a bit too late for that," Jack muttered, holding onto Rose protectively.

The woman waved her arm dismissively.

"I wasn't going to hurt her," she said, almost boredly, "not if I didn't have to."

"Well, let's start right from the beginning then, shall we?" Jack said, as the Doctor was yet to make comment and Rose was too weirded out to speak. "What's your name sweetheart?"

"Amber," the woman said coldly, turning off any charm Jack might have had.

"How appropriate," Jack said, equally coldly, beginning to dislike this woman less and less. Shame really, because despite her fangs she was pretty cute.

"Why, is there some great female assassin called Amber or something?" Rose asked, a snap of indignation and temper in her voice.

"No, I meant the colour of her eyes," Jack said.

"Oh trust you to notice something like that!" Rose said huffily. Amber also treated him to a cold glare.

"Well, what do you want then Amber?" Jack asked.

"Pathetic as this is going to sound, I need your help," Amber said, "my ship crashed and the flight generator is broken."

"So, you're an assassin from the future who just _happened_ to land on Perth before the opening of their two-thousandth library," Jack said disbelievingly.

"Yes," Amber said plainly, "Why would I care about their stupid libraries… wait, how do you know I'm from the future?"

"Seen your ship, impressive piece of equipment you got there girl!" Jack said.

"How did you find it? I had it put in camouflage mode, even I couldn't find it!"

"Well, I had this," Jack said, producing the locator. Amber's eyes widened.

"That's mine!" she snapped, snatching it from his hands.

"Very nice by the way, love. Particularly like the old psychic field trick – nearly had us fooled. Only it's not so good on groups of people that all fear something different." Jack said.

"It gets me around, or not as the case is right now." Amber replied coolly.

"I like a girl with good assets." Jack said, charm plastered all over his face. Rose smacked him.

"I can't believe you are trying to chat up a girl who tried to kill me!" she said.

"Oh, give me some credit – if I had tried to kill you you would be dead!" Amber retorted.

"You're using an Image Hoster, right?" the Doctor interrupted, speaking for the first time.

Amber looked over him and for a moment Rose thought she saw a flicker of surprise cross her features, but she hid it well, returning to impassive almost instantly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rose asked, "You sound like you're talking about the internet!"

"It's almost like that," the Doctor said, "an Image Hoster is a small device you can clip to your belt, or put in a pocket. It stores about four to five images normally and projects them over your own body, making you take on the appearance of someone else, anything with a similar basic structure anyway, only it can't do eyes. Eyes are too complicated and the device can't keep up with all the subtle movements."

He put his hand to his face and scratched at his chin thoughtfully. "So, you have one Perthian image, one of Jack, and this one, as Quertiz only have blue eyes," he said, "why don't you take off that jacket and give us a demonstration, as you are all for gestures of good faith!"

Amber regarded him warily, then removed the thick leather jacket she was wearing, and threw it to the floor by their feet. As it left her body it switched from almost Earthy design leather, to a dark silver jacket made of some material that Rose didn't recognise, but it looked very futuristic. The Doctor smiled brightly at Amber's sullen face.

"So, you're an assassin from the future with a broken ship, you send out a distress signal, not calling for reinforcements as I first thought, but actually for help. Help arrives and you plan to sneak back to their ship and steal resources to fix your own, fly away before anyone knows what happened. Unfortunately for you, two things went wrong in that little plan, A you lost your locator and couldn't get back to the crash site because it was swamped with Perthians mere minutes after you crashed and B you got a lot more than you bargained for with my ship, so, before we go any further and decide whether you deserve our help or not, let's find out what you really look like!" He reached into his pocket for his Sonic Screwdriver, held it up and switched it on, a look of smug satisfaction on his face.

The expression faded when he realised that nothing was happening.

"You're not using an Image Hoster, are you?" he asked.

Amber shook her head.

* * *

"Well, there's a simple solution to this problem," Jack said, "If her clothes switch back to normal when we take them off, we just take off an item of clothing every time she switches, until they don't change anymore!"

"I don't believe you!" Rose said.

"And it wouldn't work anyway, I'd just change them back to what they normally look like separate to the rest of my body," Amber pointed out.

"Damn," Jack said, then, "well can we try it anyway, might be fun!"

This earned him a playful slap from Rose.

Meanwhile the Doctor had stooped to pick up the jacket Amber had thrown to the floor, and was inspecting it closely, running his fingers over two diagonal stripes on the shoulder of one sleeve, one blue, one pink. He also checked the label, then looked up at Amber, a disbelieving look on his face.

"Katering Clothing, established around the year one million four-hundred thousand, famous for their incorporation of living material, the two stripes that have to make contact with the skin of a shapeshifter that allow said shapeshifter to alter their clothing as well," he frowned deeply, "Amber, what do you really look like?"

Amber sighed wearily and looked to the ceiling of the TARDIS. Rose watched with horror and fascination as her tentacle like hair shrunk into her head and was replaced by long, lustrous sky-blue hair. The blue tint to her skin faded and changed to a lightly bronzed shade. Her combat style trousers and heavy boots were replaced by tight fitting black trousers and elegant but deadly high-heeled boots. Her white tank-top became an equally tight fitting top, made from the same material as the jacket. Finally her teeth reformed into perfectly straight, normal teeth and a blue gemstone pushed its way out of her forehead like a third eye, reminding Rose oddly of the gas-masks pushing their way out of the faces of the Empty Child victims.

Jack stared in awe as Amber folded her arms again, finished with her transformation. Rose couldn't help staring a bit, though she was fairly sure her reasons for staring were not the same as Jack's (he had now moved on from staring to 'checking out' with little, if any, reservation). The Doctor was also staring, but with shock and a hint of hurt in his eyes.

"That's impossible," he murmured, "Your race is dead!"

"I could say the same of you, Time Lord," Amber said, her eyes fixed on the Doctors.

* * *

Thanks again to all those who review and stuff! Slightly shorter chapter today, next one longer and soon though! 


	4. Deja Vu

"So how does your signal work Amber?" The Doctor asked as they walked through the forest to where Amber's ship was parked.

"Bio Signal," She replied, stepping elegantly over the fallen branches, "only requires a tiny bit of power from the ship to start up, then spreads through anything living, feeding off their own power source for energy. Everybody gets sleepy a bit earlier, or has to drink an extra coffee, and I get a distress signal the size of a planet."

"So, you actually want help?" Jack asked, "I find that hard to believe."

"What happened?" The Doctor asked.

"I was shot out of the sky – caught in the crossfire between two much bigger and much more powerful ships. I was invisible, shielded – it was a lucky, or unlucky, depending on whose view point you're taking, hit. I was in deep space, no planet available to crash land on, so I jumped Time Tracks with what was left of my Time Displacement Equipment. I had to fly blind, no co-ordinates, no dates. Ended up here, Perth, whatever year it is." Amber explained.

"And how did you survive – you're race was destroyed, wiped out!" the Doctor said.

A brief flicker of pain crossed Amber's eyes and she looked to the floor.

"I was five when the war ended, when we lost – my Mother put me in my ship and remote programmed it to jump away, through time and space. I never saw her again, not in real life anyway, she left me recorded instructions in the ship's archive on how to survive. I adopted the Quertiz identity and made my life as an assassin, trust me, not my ideal profession, but it's a dog-eat-just-about-everything-else world out there in two seventy two, and there isn't an easy way to survive." She walked ahead of the others to the clearing where her ship was parked, holding out her locator like a car-key. She pressed something and her ship appeared, the active camouflage sliding back, like a sheet being pulled away from a table.

"It still looks like a med-ship," Jack said.

"You're afraid of a med-ship?" Amber asked, raising an eyebrow in Jack's direction.

"Long story," Rose said with a cheeky grin in Jack's direction. He looked almost embarrassed.

Amber pressed another button and the psychic defence shield slid back like the active camouflage had done. In place of the Slitheen warship, the Dalek fleet-ship and the Chula med-ship, stood a ship which appeared to be made of liquid black metal. If Jack had stared at Amber before, it was nothing compared to the eyes he was giving her ship.

"That is the most beautiful, non-living, thing I have ever _seen_!" he breathed, rushing forwards and brushing over the shiny black surface with his hands.

Amber walked past him to the entrance, taking the opportunity to smack him on the way.

"No fingerprints!" she said, then disappeared inside, followed closely by the Doctor, who was grinning at Jack.

"Finally met your match, Jack my boy!" he said, then vanished from sight.

"Seem a bit cosy those two, considering they've only just met and she tried to kill me," Rose said.

"Give her a bit more credit – if she'd tried to kill you, you'd be dead," Jack said, earning him a sharp slap from Rose.

"Watch your mouth!" she said with a flirtatious smile, then followed Amber and the Doctor onboard.

"See, the navigator circuits are completely fried, and the TD systems blew when I left the Time Vortex, the navigator I can fix with basic supplies but the Time Displacement systems will need something a bit more advanced." Amber said, lifting a floor panel in the ship and showing it to the Doctor.

The Doctor looked at the burnt out wiring, scanning it with his Screwdriver. Rose tried to read his expression but couldn't. He had one of those annoyingly guarded faces on at the moment. Rose guessed it was hard being reminded he was the last of his species, that her existence, much like his, was as much of a blessing as a curse.

"Well, I see two possibilities here, Amber. You are either being totally honest with me, or you are getting your ship to show us what you want us to see." The Doctor said, standing up and folding his arms again, his expression still guarded.

"Why would I lie to you?" Amber asked, standing to look him directly in the eye.

"Why would you entirely trust a man whose name you don't even know." The Doctor said.

"Then what is your name?" Amber asked.

"The Doctor," he replied.

"The Doctor, Rose, and Jack," Amber said, "Now I know your whole crew, first name terms, if you consider 'The Doctor' to be a first name."

"You're an assassin," the Doctor said.

"So are you," Amber replied calmly.

Rose watched as Amber and the Doctor seemed to be engaged in a silent battle of wills. They stared deeply into each other's eyes for a long time, searching for truth and lie. Rose could almost feel electricity in the air. In the end it was Amber who looked away.

"I can't say anything to convince you, other than I only ever did what I did in the interest of preserving my life, my heritage. That must be something you relate to, Doctor," she said, "Why else would you keep going when nothing else is left? Because you feel giving up would be an insult to those who died before you."

The Doctor considered her words for a moment, then nodded. The movement was barely noticeable, as though he was trying to control himself, afraid that moving or speaking too much would betray what he was trying to keep from everyone, but to Rose it seemed that Amber's unusual eyes saw everything.

"We'll help you," He said after a moment of collecting his thoughts, "I'm sure we can do something about this." He gestured to the burnt out wiring.

"Thank you," Amber said.

"Though I don't know how we can get this to the TARDIS, not if it can't fly, and I don't want to move the TARDIS any more than necessary – if the Perthians find it we'll never leave this place." The Doctor said, in his usual, back-to-business voice.

A flicker of a smile crossed Amber's face as he mentioned the Perthians.

"They are a bit military in their knowledge advancement," she said, "But it's not a problem, not now I've got this back." She held up the locator.

"Remote control?" Rose asked.

"Can function as that, but not when the ship itself can't fly," Amber said, kicking the floor panel shut with her foot and stepping outside, dragging Jack away from the control panels on her way past. "What did I say about no fingerprints?" she snapped.

The Doctor grinned at Rose as Jack meekly followed her out, tail firmly between his legs.

"You're quick to trust her," Rose said, trying not to let on that she was slightly annoyed about this.

"You can always trust someone who finds honour in death," the Doctor said, "Samurais thought death was honourable – you can trust Samurais, can't you?"

"I wouldn't trust anybody with a big sharp sword ready to cut my head off," Rose said, "So I'm not really following your logic."

"People who find honour in death fully appreciate the value of life," the Doctor said in a philosophical manner.

"You're making this up!" Rose said, shoving him teasingly. The Doctor looked indignant.

"No I'm not!" he said, walking after Rose who was leaving the ship, a grin plastered across her face, her tongue creeping to the side of her mouth like it so often did when she was amused and trying to contain it.

When they were all outside and a safe distance away from the ship, Amber held up her locator and opened it.

Rose was oddly reminded of the TV show Pokemon. The ship began to melt, then flew through the sky towards Amber's outstretched hand. The stream of liquid metal flew into the locator box, shrinking down until the entire ship was inside the locator, which was small enough to fit in the palm of Amber's dainty hands.

"Witness the technology of the future ladies and gentlemen," the Doctor said as Amber snapped the locator shut.

"No gentlemen here," Rose said.

"Hey!" Jack protested, but Rose was already laughing and didn't hear him.

"No ladies either, only children!" the Doctor said, "So kiddies, lets head back, shall we? Time for your afternoon nap."

"Nine hundred years old isn't too old for a slap, you know?" Rose said, linking his arm with hers.

"According to Tyler women you are never too old for a slap!" the Doctor said.

"You're Mother sounds like a real charmer," Jack said.

"Don't listen to a word he says!" Rose retorted, "My Mother is lovely, she and the Doctor just have a conflict of interests."

"You mean your Mum doesn't appreciate a nine hundred year old alien chasing after her daughter." Jack said.

"I wasn't chasing her!" the Doctor protested, "It was the living plastic that was after her!"

"Living plastic?" Jack asked, "Now _that's_ a new way of putting it."

"Is there ever an innocent thought that runs through your mind?" The Doctor asked.

"Apparently not," Rose said, a smirk on her face.

Amber walked behind them in silence, watching them interact. They were so comfortable together, so carefree and fun loving. There was an aura of darkness about the Doctor that the other two didn't have, but even he was happy, particularly when his eyes crossed the form of his young blonde companion. How she wanted to have a taste of that kind of life.

* * *

"Right then, as you didn't get a proper welcome last time, as you barged your own way in, welcome, Amber, to the TARDIS!" the Doctor said as he opened the door to his Police Box shaped ship.

"Why does it look like a blue box?" Amber questioned. Rose thought there was a hint of scorn in her voice and immediately got annoyed.

"I like it, don't you?" she asked, smiling smugly at the pleased look on the Doctor's face.

"It's the inside that counts," Amber said indifferently.

"You bet it is," Jack said, all charm and smiles. Amber looked at him with more than just a hint of scorn.

"How is it you can find sexual innuendo in everything?" Amber asked, making Rose snort with laughter despite herself.

"He's a fifty first century guy, they are well known for having only one thing on their mind, literally." The Doctor said.

"Yeah," Jack said, "dancing!"

"That's one way of putting it," Rose said.

* * *

"So it was all a false alarm," Proxima Centauri said.

"Yes, I found the assassin, turns out she's just stuck and in need of help," the Doctor said, "I'll take her back to the Time Agency in my own ship, let them deal with her."

"She? And I thought you weren't actually Time Agents."

"Jack was once, he knows where the Time Agency is."

"You said this ship was one from the future?"

"Yeah, about the year one million four hundred thousand, give or take a couple of centuries." The Doctor smiled, "So, anyway, we'll be off now."

He stood to leave, but the Perthians guarding the entrance blocked his way.

"A ship from the future would be invaluable to our studies, Doctor, and what better exhibit to open Library 2000 with?" Proxima Centauri stood up.

"She may be an assassin, but she is still a person," the Doctor said, "She should be taken to the Time Agency."

"I'm afraid I can't let you take away such a wealth of knowledge, not when it had the consideration to crash land on our moon." Proxima Centauri motioned to the guards and they grabbed the Doctor by his arms.

"Don't make this mistake!" The Doctor said, "Just let me go and we'll be out of your hair within ten minutes. Take me, and I can't account for the lengths my friends will go too to get me back."

"Your friends won't be going to any lengths if they are sharing a cage with you," Proxima Centauri said, "Lalande, round them up."

* * *

"Where did the Doctor go again, Rose?" Jack asked.

"Dunno," Rose said, looking out of the window to the forest outside. "Something about visiting Proxima Centauri, but I thought that was a star."

"The people in charge here are named after stars." Amber explained, "Proxima Centauri runs Library 207, mostly through Lalande."

"He's probably just gone to say there's no problem then," Rose said, "He went to visit him before, to warn him there was an assassin from the future about."

"He did what?" Amber asked, turning away from the TARDIS to the window where Rose was.

"Does it matter what the Doctor chooses to do?" Rose asked, feeling the need to defend her friend and companion.

"Ladies!" Jack said, standing very close to them both and moving to put his arms round their shoulders, "No need to fight, there's plenty of Jack to go round!"

Amber rested her hand on his chest, and pushed him backwards.

The door suddenly flew very violently open, and Rose and Jack turned round to see Lalande, flanked by several very burly security guards.

"Identify yourself at the back there," Lalande said.

"Jupiter ma'am," a meek voice said, making Rose and Jack jump. They turned round to see a small, timid looking Perthian where Amber had been a moment ago. "I was just seeing if the lady and gentlemen required anything."

"Well, they don't," Lalande said, "Get back to your study area! Guards, apprehend these two!"

"Hey! Hands off Rose!" Jack said, stepping protectively in front of her.

He was no match, however, for the animal strength of the Perthians and they dragged him before Lalande, dragging Rose closely behind him.

"What is the purpose of this blue… box?" Lalande questioned, looking at the TARDIS.

"Wouldn't you love to know!" Jack said.

"I would," Lalande said with a ghostly smile, "And I shall find out. Guards, take them to the cells with the other."

"Oh no, Doctor!" Rose murmured fearfully, hoping the Doctor was safe and well.

* * *

"Nice of you to join me, where's Amber?" the Doctor said, as the Perthian guards threw Rose and Jack in the dark, dank cell.

"Gone," Rose said, "Some loyalty she displayed!"

"She'll come back for us," the Doctor said confidently.

"Can't you get us out of here, Sonic Screwdriver malfunctioning or something?" Rose asked huffily.

"There's nothing wrong with my Screwdriver," the Doctor said, "But it won't get us past those two." He pointed out two armed guards that were now blocking the exit.

"Oh great!" Rose said.

"Amber will get us out of here."

"Why do you trust her?"

"I trust her because she's like you, only with guns and grace."

Are you saying I'm not graceful?" Rose asked.

"Well, after that fall you took yesterday…" Jack interrupted.

"Shut up! Who asked you?" Rose snapped jokingly. "Why do I feel like I've heard this conversation before?"

"Because you have, we've just swapped lines." The Doctor said.

"What?"

"We had exactly the same conversation about Jack, just you were the one doing the trusting and me the one doing the complaining." The Doctor said with a grin, "Makes a change doesn't it? Anyway, you were right about Jack, give me a chance to be right about Amber."

Rose looked to the floor. She was sure the Doctor had objected to Jack because he had been jealous of him. Was she jealous of Amber? Did she not want another woman, much more useful and with a much better figure getting between her and the Doctor?

"Well this is boring," Jack said, "Charades while we wait anyone?"

* * *

Amber waited until they had been dragged out of sight and earshot before she ventured back into the room. She switched back to her usual self as she walked towards the TARDIS. The doors wouldn't open with a push, but that didn't matter, because Amber had the key. She had swiped it from around Jack's neck when she had pushed him away. She doubted he would notice until he went to take out his key and found it wasn't there.

She slotted the key in the lock and opened the door, stepping inside the time ship. Once inside she closed the doors and ran straight for the console.

For several hours she sat there, just meditating on the controls, trying to fathom how to use it. It was like trying to do a jigsaw puzzle with no edge pieces but bit by bit the picture began to slot together. Seven hours after she first entered, the central column started moving. With an incredibly smug smile, she sat back, and let the TARDIS fly her away from room 27b.

* * *

"I'll ask you again," Lalande persisted, "What is the blue box in your room, and how do you get it open."

"And I'll tell you again that I'm not going to tell you anything," the Doctor said, a cheery smile on his face.

They had lost count of the hours since they had been dragged down here, but the Doctor was not about to give up his secrets, even after so many hours of questioning.

"She's never coming back for us," Rose muttered bitterly to Jack as Lalande contemplated what to do next. Before Jack could reply, the door to the cell block opened.

"Then you leave me no choice." Proxima Centauri said, walking in the room.

The Doctor stood up, wary of this new presence of higher authority.

"Guards, take the blonde one!" Proxima Centauri said, pointing at Rose, "Hit him where it really hurts, then he'll talk!"

"No!" the Doctor said, rushing right up to the bars that separated him from the Perthians. "Don't touch her!"

"I thought as much," Proxima Centauri said, "You humans are so predictable."


	5. For future reference

This is the last part in this episode! But the story isn't over yet - the title now has a one in it because it is the first in a series, like a few extra episodes for the TV series. Look out for the next part '2 The Doctor Does Domestic' coming soon!

Thanks for all the reviews! They really make my day :) :)

(P.S. I am aware that part of this sounds a lot like a scene with Rose in Parting of the Ways. I did think of the idea for this before I watched the episode, so I'm not just copying! Wow that episode was so good... just writing about it is making me want to watch it again! Anyway... I'll shut up waffling now!)

* * *

The Doctor stepped back from the bars, frowning.

"_Human_?" he said, then he remembered, the Perthians still thought he was human.

"Wait! Don't take Rose, I'll talk – I'll tell you everything." He said. Jack and Rose both looked at him stunned. "It's a nineteen sixties police call box! Before humans had technology like mobile phones and radios they used to use them to call the police. If they ever had a criminal to keep out of trouble, they used to stick them inside until further help arrived!"

Jack had trouble containing a smirk and Rose looked vaguely hopeful, even though she doubted the Perthians would buy this.

"I don't believe you," Proxima Centauri said.

"No? Then look it up in your files!" the Doctor challenged.

The Perthians looked between each other, murmuring in quiet voices.

"Call in the Earth expert." Proxima Centauri ordered.

A few minutes later, a guard returned with another Perthian, a girl who looked roughly the same age as Jupiter.

"Earth, tell us about nineteen sixties police call boxes!" Proxima Centauri said.

The Perthian called Earth repeated what the Doctor had said, almost exactly. The other Perthians looked vaguely annoyed.

"Ok, so perhaps it is a police call box, but why do you have one in your room?" Lalande challenged.

"Because…" The Doctor began, but he was cut off by a familiar sound. The sound of the TARDIS materialising. "Because this is what it does!" he said triumphantly.

The Perthians watched in awe as the TARDIS appeared, the wind blowing Rose's hair everywhere, the light illuminating the dark cell block.

"Humans do not have this technology!" Earth said, shouting above the noise of the TARDIS.

"Who said I was human?" the Doctor said, grinning widely, the skip back in his step.

"No!" Proxima Centauri said, "You can't let them escape!"

"Guards!" Lalande called.

The Guards rushed to unlock the bars and get to the Doctor and his companions, but before they could the TARDIS finished its materialisation and the doors flew open.

"Took your time!" The Doctor said as Amber stepped out from between them, "Just for future reference, Time Lord, Time Ship. You could have picked us up hours ago!"

"It took me long enough to work out how to fly the damn thing sideways, without adding backwards and forwards to the equation!" Amber said, making the Doctor grin in his manic way.

"_Time Lord_?" Lalande said, awe in her voice.

Proxima Centauri had also heard, and was working himself and the guards into a frenzy.

"Get them!" he roared, "we cannot let such a wealth of knowledge escape!"

The guards had finally got the door open and they rushed into the cell, blocking Rose and Jack's path to the TARDIS.

"Doctor?" Rose called.

The Doctor looked at the group of burly guards and back down at Amber. He held her gaze for a moment and she nodded, then turned to look again at the guards.

"Rose, Jack, get ready to run to the TARDIS!" he said, then put his hand on Amber's shoulder, "Don't kill anyone," he said to her, then ran inside the TARDIS doors.

Amber looked over at the Guards.

"Leave the Humans, I am the assassin you're master is after!" she declared loudly.

"Get her!" Proxima Centauri ordered, and the guards all ran at Amber, "One is better than nothing!"

As Jack and Rose slipped behind them and into the TARDIS, Lalande walked up to the bars of the cell, frowning. Her eyes searched the face of the blue-haired girl. What was her race, where was she from? Lalande knew she knew the answers. The girl looked over, beyond the guards and met Lalande's eyes. Curious amber coloured eyes the girl had, Lalande thought, then in a flash of inspiration, Lalande knew who and what she was.

The child outside the office, the girl in the back of the room when she had apprehended the humans, the strange amber eyed child who had wandered around for a couple of weeks, never doing as they were told, always listening in on things.

_Shapeshifter_, Lalande thought, _shapeshifter with amber eyes and a strange blue gemstone in the centre of her forehead._

Lalande's eyes widened with fear.

"No, get back!" she called, "She's one of the Children of Xion!"

The blue haired girl caught her eye and winked, then all hell broke loose.

* * *

The Doctor ran straight to the console and turned on a screen, showing what was going on outside. He watched as Amber directed the attention of the guards towards herself and away from Rose and Jack. 

"Good girl!" he said, as Jack and Rose ran up to the console to join him.

"She's going to get herself killed!" Rose said, all doubts of Amber's merit gone.

"No, she's going to kill all of them!" Jack said, watching Amber closely on the screen.

"Nope, you're both wrong!" the Doctor said, "she'll cope, now, where's the sound on this thing?"

He bent beneath the console and started tinkering with the buttons and wires, trying to get some sound.

"How did she fly the TARDIS, I thought only you could do that?" Rose said.

"She's a clever little girl," Jack said, watching the screen avidly.

"Ahah!" the Doctor said triumphantly, connecting two wires. Sound came flooding from the screen.

On the screen, Lalande was just within view. She had been mouthing something frantically before, but now the words became audible.

"…she's one of the Children of Xion!"

"No _way_!" Jack said, "She's from the planet Xion? Well that explains how she could fly the TARDIS."

"Care to share the revelation?" Rose said.

"The people of Xion are Telepathic, so is the TARDIS, they would have been able to communicate! Not much, but enough to get the gist of the controls!" Jack explained.

"She can get inside our heads?" Rose asked, "There's a whole planet of people who can get inside our heads?"

"Was," the Doctor corrected, "and no, not all of them, just the Children of Xion, they ran the temples."

"Aren't there laws against reading people's thoughts or something?" Rose asked, "I wouldn't want anyone to know what I was thinking."

"You just gotta have a mind like mine Rose, then no one wants to know!" Jack said, flashing her a cheesy grin.

The Doctor leaned in close to the screen and watched as Amber was shot at from all directions by the stunning beams that came from the tips of the Perthian spears.

"She is never going to survive that!" Rose said.

"Yes she will," the Doctor said.

The shooting stopped and the dust created began to settle, to reveal Amber, still standing, one hand held out in front of her. She stepped forwards and an opportunist Perthian guard shot at her again. The purple stunning beam got about a foot in front of her and bounced off an invisible shield. The spear the beam originated from shattered into thousands of pieces in the guard's hand.

"Telepathic and Telekinetic, the gift of those fortunate enough to be Children of Xion. They ran the temples because the people of Xion thought they were the chosen ones of God." The Doctor explained, "A good priest or priestess has complete control of their abilities – they could pick up a delicate little flower while picking up a ten tonne weight and they would rise at the same speed. Unfortunately Amber doesn't seem to be too good at it, as she's already letting it get away from her."

On screen Ambers was wincing slightly, and things were flying around the room at alarming speeds.

"Letting what get away?" Rose asked.

"The energy. Right!" the Doctor leapt into action, "Jack, Rose, pull those levers, get ready to leave as soon as I drag our blue-haired friend inside!"

He pushed a few more buttons then ran to the door, preparing to face the madness that was going on outside.

Amber wasn't best practised at using her psychic ability. Quertiz assassins that started moving things with their minds drew unwanted attention. Using it made her feel powerful, especially as she had so little control, and it started to run away with her after only a few moments. She threw back her head and released the energy, keeping the guards back, shattering weapons and furniture at random. The air was deadly spiral of razor sharp shards of weapons.

She heard the door to the TARDIS open and felt the guards rushing to apprehend the Doctor. With a casual flick of the hand she sent them flying into the wall.

The Doctor fought his way through the storm of shrapnel, shielding his face with his leather jacket. He got within a foot of Amber and everything went eerily calm, like the eye of a storm. He lowered his jacket and placed his hand on Amber's shoulder, shaking her slightly. The movement brought her back.

The suspended shrapnel fell out of the air as Amber fell limply into the Doctor's arms. The guards were dazed and confused, mostly sat against the far wall. They made no effort to stop the Doctor as he headed towards the TARDIS, carrying the last of the Children of Xion unconscious in his arms.

"Stop them!" Proxima Centauri yelled, as soon as he had gathered his wits about him.

The guards half-heartedly scrambled to their feet and stumbled over towards the fading TARDIS.

"If you want anything done, you have to do it yourself!" Proxima Centauri grumbled, and he marched into the cell.

Furiously he beat on the doors of the disappearing TARDIS, until there was so little of it left he actually fell through. Pride damaged, he stood up and dusted himself, facing his bloodied guards with a face of extreme disapproval.

"The knowledge fountain of the universe landed on our moon and you let it escape!" he said with cold anger, "Get out of my sight all of you!"

The guards walked away dejectedly, and Lalande followed them. She was a firm believer in the pursuit of knowledge, but not at the cost of lives. Though no one had been killed, the guards were certainly worse for wear, and that wasn't tolerable. She had warned them, she had told them they were in danger. She led the guards away to be seen by the medical staff.

Back in the cell, Proxima Centauri stood where the TARDIS had been a moment ago, inspecting the square on the floor, the sign it had left behind, the only place in the room not covered in dust and splinters.

He had been so close, but they had let them get away. He would never forgive them for that. A Time Lord and a Child of Xion at the opening of Library 2000, and live human exhibits to serve tea to the wealthy guests, a fountain of knowledge. He kicked at the dust on the floor in frustration then turned back to the door of the cell.

He dusted down his clothes and straightened them out importantly, marching towards the door.

Somewhere in time and space, Amber smiled in her sleep, and the door to the cell bolted shut.

* * *

"Will she be alright?" Jack asked, looking down at Amber's sleeping form. 

The Doctor had, rather unceremoniously, dropped her on the floor on entering the TARDIS. Jack had his suspicions it had something to do with the glare Rose had been giving him.

"She'll be fine," the Doctor said dismissively as he programmed some flight co-ordinates into the TARDIS. "She'll have one hell of a headache when she wakes up though!" he added merrily.

Jack looked down at Amber again. She was lying on her side, her blue hair covering her face, one hand protecting her face from the grill like floor of the TARDIS, the other resting on the floor beside it. She looked peaceful.

Jack crouched down beside her and moved to brush her hair out of her face.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the Doctor said.

Jack looked up at him, but he was facing the console and apparently hadn't even looked round.

"Why not?" Jack asked, bushing his hand softly over the slumbering girl's face.

The next thing Jack knew, Amber had managed to swing her leg round, knocking him clean off his feet, before kicking him sharp in the chest, pushing him a good two feet away from her.

"_That's _why," the Doctor said, still not looking round from the console.

"You could've warned me!" Jack said, rubbing his chest and wincing slightly.

"I did try," the Doctor said, "Not my fault if you're too stupid to listen!"

He marched over to where Amber was still sat on the floor, glancing around defensively. He held out a hand to her and helped her up.

"Stupid little humans, don't have a spare brain cell between them!" he said jovially.

"At least they understand the concept of feelings!" Rose snapped.

Amber raised an eyebrow as the blonde marched out of the room, looking very annoyed.

"What's wrong with her?" She asked, before brushing past the Doctor towards the back of the TARDIS, off to explore.

"Ouch," Jack said, standing up like an eighty-year-old, clutching at his aching sides. "And both the emotionless aliens deliver a sharp blow to the chest of their human counterparts. I'm not sure if I'd have been better of with the metaphorical one or not."

"What _are_ you talking about?" the Doctor asked.

"And you called us stupid!" Jack said, clapping his Time Lord friend on the shoulder, before departing for the back of the ship to find Rose, rubbing his chest as he went.

* * *

Amber wandered the corridors of the TARDIS, breathing deeply and trying to calm her pounding head. She had been intending to apologise to Jack for kicking him, but that little conversation with the Doctor had let her know he had been warned, which in her opinion meant he thoroughly deserved it. Silly human. 

Rose was sat in the kitchen making herself a cup of tea when Amber walked in. She was tempted to glare at her, but when Amber smiled at her politely, Rose couldn't help smiling back.

"Want a cuppa?" she asked, holding out an empty cup. "Tea…?" she elaborated at Amber's blank look, "it's hot, and, you drink it?"

"Never heard of it," Amber admitted, "Nice?"

"I think so."

"Go on then."

Rose re-boiled the kettle and poured Amber out a drink. The two women sat opposite each other, mugs in hand.

"What's your story then?" Amber asked Rose, "How did you end up travelling with the last Time Lord?"

"We met in London, 2005, the basement of a shop. He grabbed my hand, told me to 'Run for my life!' and I've never stopped running since!"

"Twenty first century Earth?"

"Yeah, nothing special really, don't even know that aliens exist yet," Rose said, "but I got attacked by living plastic manikins and my boyfrie… ex-boyfriend got eaten by a wheelie-bin, so I was prepared to believe almost anything after that."

"Living plastic?"

"Yeah, something called a Nestene Consciousness was controlling them."

"The Nestene's planet was destroyed in the Time War," Amber said, "It must have been the only survivor."

"We have a habit of meeting them on our journeys," Rose said, thinking of the Dalek, of Margaret Slitheen, but she saw the pain in Amber's eyes and realised she had been unintentionally very tactless.

"Sorry," she said, "I forgot that… Did your planet get destroyed in the Time War as well?"

"No, well, yes but not really." Amber said, "It was a prelude to the Time War, but it wasn't destroyed in the Time War itself. The year one million four hundred thousand two hundred and seventy two, my present, is a time of much unrest. Even a hundred years before I was born, war had been going on for years. My planet was destroyed by mercenaries, acting on the instructions of Daleks – distant enough from the Time War itself to not be reversed when it ended, but close enough to be related, if you know what I mean."

"I think so, yeah," Rose said.

"Now, in the alternative, Dalek free timeline, my planet is still gone, but no one knows why, other than it was destroyed in a war. Lots of information was wiped from time and space when the Time Lords destroyed the Daleks once and for all. No one in my present knows who is friend and foe. Mercenaries and assassins thrive, while the innocent suffer. I've seen the future – it will be several hundred years before it is sorted out."

"But your planet wasn't wiped from space and time," Rose said, "The Doctor could take you there! He could show it to you, I'm sure he would."

"I don't want to get in anyone's way, I'm just here for the spare parts, and I'm not talking about Jack, then I'll be on my way."

Rose laughed. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, she thought. Amber may be and Alien but she was still female, and that was something Rose could relate to, and she had been rather lacking female company since she left London for the stars.

"So, how do you do that... you know, thing?" Rose asked, waving her hands around in a way she hoped was enlightening.

"What this?" Amber asked, levitating a teaspoon about a foot off the table.

"Yeah, that," Rose said with a grin.

"I don't know really, it's like instinct - just like you know how to walk, how to use your voice."

"Like you know how to kiss, even when it's your first?" Rose asked, sighing romantically.

Amber gave her a blank look, a look which said 'I wouldn't know'. Rose suddenly felt very sorry for Amber.

"It's all about pushing with the right part of your mind," Amber explained, drawing the spoon into her hand, then turning her attention back to her tea. An awkward silence followed.

Suddenly, Rose's phone vibrated in her pocket.

"That's odd," she said, taking it out, "I haven't had a message since Mickey sent me that picture of the Slitheen…"

She pushed a few buttons, accessing the new message, while Amber watched with mild curiosity, both at the mobile phone and the expression on Rose's face.

Back in the console room, Jack and the Doctor were having a cheery argument about the merit of the Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver, when Rose burst in, holding her phone in front of her.

"I just got a message off Mickey!"


End file.
